RPGnet : The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've long been a fan of Fading Suns, and I've kept up with all of the supplements (so I don't own Sinners and Saints, sue me). There is just something about that Dune-esque Renaissance-in-space thing that gets to me, and then Holistic Design has the audacity to put an intricately detailed and compelling history into the mix. It's no wonder it's such a great game.

Unfortunately, I'm growing less and less enamored of it lately. First there was War in the Heavens: Lifeweb and then Fading Suns second edition. Neither was what I would have wanted them to be. The second edition rulebook was a good book, but it didn't address many of the issues I had with the system and didn't advance the setting for me. War in the Heavens: Lifeweb, on the other hand, disagreed with me because it took the Symbiots it was about and the setting as a whole into realms that I would rather it didn't go. It is a taste issue, but a major one for $19.95 a pop. On the other hand, Holistic Design still manages to put out really high quality material (if in too small of a package) in Imperial Survey 1: Hawkwood Fiefs and Imperial Survey 2: al-Malik Fiefs. So I had high hopes for Legions of the Empire, or at least to say, I had high expectations of it to be a great supplement for the game, even though its release completely took my by surprise.

the format

The book is like almost any other then Fading Suns supplement, made in the same way. I was surprised to find out that it was being billed as the fourth in the factions series, which previously held solely the titles of Lords of the Known Worlds, Priests of the Celestial Sun and Merchants of the Jumpweb. I thought that it had been finished, since the nobles, church and guilds had already been covered. There were no other major factions in the then Fading Suns universe. I was surprised by its inclusion, and I think that it could be a good thing. If Holistic Design intends to further explore campaigns not revolving around the Big Three, they could do great things.

Sadly, the book, as I said, is printed like any other then Fading Suns, which means that I am deathly afraid of my cover being ripped off (especially on the spine), and it has already begun. There is something about the material that Holistic Design uses to cover their books that likes to disintegrate upon placement in a backpack or bookshelf. The paper is the same cheap stuff from other books, but I somehow find the stiffness and sound of crinkling paper more comforting than that ultra-glossy pages of some games. Hunter: the Reckoning for example.

Sadly, the book also continues the employ of Brian LeBlanc I've ever seen (almost up their with SCAR and others), but it does the same for masters like Alex Sheikman, John Bridges and the not-so-new-newcomer Mitch Byrd. He actually does some of the best work in the book in the Stigmata section. The writing and organization also seems to be below Holistic Design standards. Some of the chapters seemed arbitrarily arranged, some of them inflated or shrunken without reason. Furthermore, the history sections, and the text as a whole actually, failed to entrance me like the books normally do.

what is there

Well, Legions of the Empire has a brief outline of the history of warfare in the Known Worlds (from the First Republic's beginnings all the way to the Symbiot and Emperor Wars), scads of information on the militaries around the jumpweb, and even some nice detail on Stigmata.

The history section seemed dry and pedestrian somehow. It held none of the grandeur and epic wonder that almost all other Fading Suns supplements have almost dripped off the page. That is followed by 6 pages that are supposed to summarize the forces of all the noble houses, as well as those of the Church. That makes absolutely no sense, especially when a later chapter on the guild forces and mercenary units takes up almost 20 pages. It is the nobles who are the military movers and shakers, that is the seat of much of their power. Why are they given so far pages? Beyond that, I found that I did not really like the broad generalizations made about the houses. While the sections on the Hazat was good, the others were only so-so. From my point of view, the houses are too big to have really any stereotypes made about them, except the wrong ones.

Following the pattern of short and quick chapters, next is Barracks Culture, which also has the information on troop sizes and some sample medals, beyond the basic information about what life on a military base is like. Then comes the staggeringly large chapter on mercenaries, including a sample mercenary group.

After that is a chapter on the more elite battle orders, from the Phoenix Guard to Brother Battle and some of their tactical theurgical rites. There is also some other information, including details on crusaders (who are more a collection of unassociated people than a battle order), the Changed and some mention of chemically enhanced soldiers. Sadly, there is simply not enough. There is one example of a chemical used for super soldier, and the changed (while giving the rules update to second edition) had very little information, most of the section being taken up with more sample characters. The Alien special forces got little space as well. I was hoping for some in-depth looks at al-Malik regiments of Ukari and Li Halan squads of Vorox, but there was less than a page on the Oro'ym, Etyri and Shantor combined.

The section on space navies was one of the better parts of the book, and it neared what I wanted the entire book to be like. There was some useful information about ship culture and punishment, but it was still simply not enough. It was the Stigmata section that was the jewel of the book. While it built off of the idea of the Symbiots from War in the Heavens: Lifeweb (not surprisingly, but I still don't like it), it did a nice job. I was expecting a blasted world something like Nowhere, but instead I got a ravaged world that could have been a paradise. A nice history also came along with it, something on par to the Imperial Survey supplements, and the map was in the same style. There was also information on the Manifest Light order of psychics and theurgists, as well as their rites. This (and the information on the other Stigmata forces) was the weakest bit of the section, there was simply not enough information given.

The appendix is all about goodies, and it has new benefices, more lifepath information (I am very happy that it is getting expanded and continued in the supplements) as well as new toys of destruction. Surprisingly well-done for a toys chapter, actually.

So should you buy it?

Are you planning on running a military focused (as in the characters are in the military) or something on Stigmata? If not, then pass the book by, there is not enough information here about anything else to warrant the price tag. I was hoping for culture, history, and a detailed look at the tools of war (and neat things like juicers and crazies from RIFTS, or mecha, like in Heavy Gear). What I wanted the most, however, was a nice, in-depth and well-written look at how an army operates. I have only the barest idea of strategy and military structure, and most gamers don't even have that. Legions of the Empire should have been the book to show us how the army really works, kicking all of those Hollywood assumptions out of our heads. That would have been a book worthy of the Fading Suns logo.

-Derek Guder
-Kintaro Oe
-kabael
-the McGuffin Group

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Legions of the Empire
Author: Bill Bridges, Andrew Greenberg, Christopher Howard and Ken Lightner Category: game Company/Publisher: Holistic Design, Inc. Line: Fading Suns Cost: $19.95 Page count: 125 ISBN: 1-888906-16-2 SKU: FS 237 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 11/29/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Far_Future Space	I've long been a fan of Fading Suns, and I've kept up with all of the supplements (so I don't own Sinners and Saints, sue me). There is just something about that Dune-esque Renaissance-in-space thing that gets to me, and then Holistic Design has the audacity to put an intricately detailed and compelling history into the mix. It's no wonder it's such a great game. Unfortunately, I'm growing less and less enamored of it lately. First there was War in the Heavens: Lifeweb and then Fading Suns second edition. Neither was what I would have wanted them to be. The second edition rulebook was a good book, but it didn't address many of the issues I had with the system and didn't advance the setting for me. War in the Heavens: Lifeweb, on the other hand, disagreed with me because it took the Symbiots it was about and the setting as a whole into realms that I would rather it didn't go. It is a taste issue, but a major one for $19.95 a pop. On the other hand, Holistic Design still manages to put out really high quality material (if in too small of a package) in Imperial Survey 1: Hawkwood Fiefs and Imperial Survey 2: al-Malik Fiefs. So I had high hopes for Legions of the Empire, or at least to say, I had high expectations of it to be a great supplement for the game, even though its release completely took my by surprise. the format The book is like almost any other then Fading Suns supplement, made in the same way. I was surprised to find out that it was being billed as the fourth in the factions series, which previously held solely the titles of Lords of the Known Worlds, Priests of the Celestial Sun and Merchants of the Jumpweb. I thought that it had been finished, since the nobles, church and guilds had already been covered. There were no other major factions in the then Fading Suns universe. I was surprised by its inclusion, and I think that it could be a good thing. If Holistic Design intends to further explore campaigns not revolving around the Big Three, they could do great things. Sadly, the book, as I said, is printed like any other then Fading Suns, which means that I am deathly afraid of my cover being ripped off (especially on the spine), and it has already begun. There is something about the material that Holistic Design uses to cover their books that likes to disintegrate upon placement in a backpack or bookshelf. The paper is the same cheap stuff from other books, but I somehow find the stiffness and sound of crinkling paper more comforting than that ultra-glossy pages of some games. Hunter: the Reckoning for example. Sadly, the book also continues the employ of Brian LeBlanc I've ever seen (almost up their with SCAR and others), but it does the same for masters like Alex Sheikman, John Bridges and the not-so-new-newcomer Mitch Byrd. He actually does some of the best work in the book in the Stigmata section. The writing and organization also seems to be below Holistic Design standards. Some of the chapters seemed arbitrarily arranged, some of them inflated or shrunken without reason. Furthermore, the history sections, and the text as a whole actually, failed to entrance me like the books normally do. what is there Well, Legions of the Empire has a brief outline of the history of warfare in the Known Worlds (from the First Republic's beginnings all the way to the Symbiot and Emperor Wars), scads of information on the militaries around the jumpweb, and even some nice detail on Stigmata. The history section seemed dry and pedestrian somehow. It held none of the grandeur and epic wonder that almost all other Fading Suns supplements have almost dripped off the page. That is followed by 6 pages that are supposed to summarize the forces of all the noble houses, as well as those of the Church. That makes absolutely no sense, especially when a later chapter on the guild forces and mercenary units takes up almost 20 pages. It is the nobles who are the military movers and shakers, that is the seat of much of their power. Why are they given so far pages? Beyond that, I found that I did not really like the broad generalizations made about the houses. While the sections on the Hazat was good, the others were only so-so. From my point of view, the houses are too big to have really any stereotypes made about them, except the wrong ones. Following the pattern of short and quick chapters, next is Barracks Culture, which also has the information on troop sizes and some sample medals, beyond the basic information about what life on a military base is like. Then comes the staggeringly large chapter on mercenaries, including a sample mercenary group. After that is a chapter on the more elite battle orders, from the Phoenix Guard to Brother Battle and some of their tactical theurgical rites. There is also some other information, including details on crusaders (who are more a collection of unassociated people than a battle order), the Changed and some mention of chemically enhanced soldiers. Sadly, there is simply not enough. There is one example of a chemical used for super soldier, and the changed (while giving the rules update to second edition) had very little information, most of the section being taken up with more sample characters. The Alien special forces got little space as well. I was hoping for some in-depth looks at al-Malik regiments of Ukari and Li Halan squads of Vorox, but there was less than a page on the Oro'ym, Etyri and Shantor combined. The section on space navies was one of the better parts of the book, and it neared what I wanted the entire book to be like. There was some useful information about ship culture and punishment, but it was still simply not enough. It was the Stigmata section that was the jewel of the book. While it built off of the idea of the Symbiots from War in the Heavens: Lifeweb (not surprisingly, but I still don't like it), it did a nice job. I was expecting a blasted world something like Nowhere, but instead I got a ravaged world that could have been a paradise. A nice history also came along with it, something on par to the Imperial Survey supplements, and the map was in the same style. There was also information on the Manifest Light order of psychics and theurgists, as well as their rites. This (and the information on the other Stigmata forces) was the weakest bit of the section, there was simply not enough information given. The appendix is all about goodies, and it has new benefices, more lifepath information (I am very happy that it is getting expanded and continued in the supplements) as well as new toys of destruction. Surprisingly well-done for a toys chapter, actually. So should you buy it? Are you planning on running a military focused (as in the characters are in the military) or something on Stigmata? If not, then pass the book by, there is not enough information here about anything else to warrant the price tag. I was hoping for culture, history, and a detailed look at the tools of war (and neat things like juicers and crazies from RIFTS, or mecha, like in Heavy Gear). What I wanted the most, however, was a nice, in-depth and well-written look at how an army operates. I have only the barest idea of strategy and military structure, and most gamers don't even have that. Legions of the Empire should have been the book to show us how the army really works, kicking all of those Hollywood assumptions out of our heads. That would have been a book worthy of the Fading Suns logo. -Derek Guder -Kintaro Oe -kabael -the McGuffin Group Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)